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It was in April of this year that I was to look ahead to months of television misery. I had for some time been watching too much cable TV politics, and now the debates to determine the Democratic presidential nominee were about to begin … with 24 candidates!
Even the most devoted political junkie should acknowledge the problem: If there is a lot of useful opinion, there may be just as much be much useless attitude.
There was a solution to my problem. Most days I would purchase two local newspapers (of Scranton and Wilkes-Barre) and one national. I started buying an additional national along with a helpful “scandal sheet,” the New York Daily.
Most knowledgeable people will admit that the New York Times is the best newspaper in the world, albeit liberal. Others may prefer the conservative Wall Street Journal. I won’t buy it, but will accept a free copy.
The nation’s moderate newspaper is the USA TODAY. There is usually not much to it, but primary political reporter Susan Page may be worth the price herself. She is thoughtful and wise and never touches the extremes that practically every other commentator does.
What is the relative value of buying five newspapers? Each can be quickly perused, and remember, time is money and there is now much more available. Thus, I can continue to take a glance at the television screen for highlights (or low lights).
The great reward is that once summer has begun, I can seize the opportunity to read the two most important new books of Trump Time: “American Carnage,” by Tim Alberta, a history from the end of Bush-Cheney through Barack Obama until now; and “The Immoral Majority,” by Ben Lowe, which is adequately described by the tagline, ‘Why Evangelicals Chose Political Power over Christian Values.”
Richard J. Yost
So. Abington Twp.